Nanotechnologies - a panacea for modern civilization woes or threat to humanity?

This initiative, in case of its successful implementation, will be the first practical integration of the military potentials of these two previously antagonistic forces. In the meantime, the threat of a new arms race is becoming more palpable across the world, but this is not being fueled by achievements in the area of traditional sciences, but those attained in the field of nanotechnology. Whether the Russian initiative will be able to bring Russia and NATO much closer together will become clearer in the foreseeable future. 

In this article, the author has made an attempt to find answers to these and other questions relating to the strategic interests of Russia’s national security as well as the possible consequences of the fruits of researches in nanotechnology to mankind as a whole. 

A new ‘competition platform’ for major global powers

The rapidly growing attention being paid to nanotechnologies by developed and emerging counties as well as leaders of global businesses, according to experts at the British Royal Science Society, stems from the fact that the achievements being made in this area are likely to affect almost all the aspects of people’s daily life activities in the near future, while over the next 10-15 years will trigger major radical changes in the fields of medicine, energy, defense, etc. 

“The critical importance of nanotechnologies for the West is evident in the fact that NATO countries are actively discussing at the highest political level their probable potential negative impacts on their national and global security strategies.”

All these phenomena, according to experts’ estimations, are expected to trigger an explosive growth in nanotechnologies and their practical implementations over the next few decades. The expected growth will be driven by a large-scale influx of finances from the private sectors. The real and prospective capabilities of nanotechnologies' explosive development, their expected huge influence over all major spheres, including the national security aspect, underscores NATO experts’ increasing attention to the consequences of uncontrolled proliferation of nanotechnologies. This means all efforts need to be directed toward the maximum utilization of all the positive aspects of nanotechnologies and absolute minimization of their possible negative side effects for people and their environment.       

The critical importance of this issue for the West is evident in the fact that several NATO countries are currently actively discussing the potential negative impacts of rapidly developing nanotechnologies on the state of national and global security at the highest level. According to experts, both governments and private companies have been investing immense funds into land-breaking researches in nanotechnologies, a trend that has led to an intensification of scientific and technical activities in this sphere.

For example, funding of researches in this area of nanotechnologies in the United States from state budget increased had six-fold from 1997 to 2004 to peg at about $1bln in 2005 within the framework of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). This has made researches in this sphere one of the most generously funded scientific programs in the United States, exceeding even the fund being allocated for the studying of the Human Genome program. A similar situation has also developed in Japan, which has also invested about U$1bln in cutting-edge researches in this sphere. Developing countries, notably, India, China, South Africa and Brazil, have also joined the nanotechnology race. 

Currently, the United States is the obvious leader in terms of application of nanotechnologies in the defense sector. According to experts, the U.S. military interest in this area has been growing actively since the 1980s. In the last few years, up to 30% of funding allocated to the NNI program has gone into bankrolling Pentagon projects in this area. For instance, the expenses of the U.S. Defense Department on nanotechnological researches amounted to about U$280mln in 2005 alone. Other major powers are also equally active in this sector. For instance, in 2004-06, the European Union approved a budget of 65mln euros for researches into military application of nanotechnologies. Similarly, the U.K. Defense Ministry has also been seriously involved in nanotechnological researches, injecting about 1.5mln Pounds into related projects. 

A major difference in nanotechnological researches in the United Kingdom from similar studies in the United States is that nanotechnology is mainly considered a corporate domain in the former, where the government does not aim to increase its investments in the industry, unlike in the latter, where the government is one of the key growth drivers in the sector. For instance, in 2002, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology launched the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology with a five-year financial plan of $50mln that will be bankrolled from budget of the U.S. Defense Department. The focus of this research was directed at improving the survival rate of U.S. forces on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Russia, in terms of level of development and state control over researches into nanotechnologies and spheres of their practical applications, has fallen seriously behind other nations, and consequently, cannot be considered among the forerunners in this industry. This is where the crux of the problem lies for Russia, as it will need more time, energy and financial resources to reduce the gaping gulf between it and today’s global pacesetters in this new industry. 

Nanotechnologies pose some danger to humanity 

Indeed, experts have highlighted a wide range of threats that could result from potential negative consequences of nanotechnological developments that are not related to national security. The experts’ concerns stemmed mainly from the fact that certain components of nanotechnological productions are potentially detrimental to environment, whilst their overall impacts on people have not been fully studied. 

Such untested components, according to these experts, will turn into conceptually new contaminants, which modern industry and sciences are not fully equipped to deal with today. This is because the ‘revolutionary’ chemical and physical properties of such components will enable them easily pass through the existing filtration systems, including biological ones, which would lead to an explosive growth in the number of allergic reactions and diseases related to them.

The unprecedentedly minuscule nature of nanotechnological products and privacy issues arising from them are also of concern. This is because the emergence and availability of not only micro-, but also the so-called “nano-spy devices” in skilled hands would open boundless possibilities for gathering confidential data and compromising information. The various degrees of accesses to nanotechnological applications in medicine and other socially vital areas could also lead to a new border dividing humanity according to the extent of their use of nanotechnologies, which would further worsen the already enormous rift between the rich and the poor. 

These probable problems have already triggered the formation of several social movements and organizations alarmed by the rising universal implementation of nanotechnologies, calling for a stricter international control over their developments and usage. An example of such movements is Greenpeace, which has even demanded a complete prohibition of nanotechnologies and their applications.

“Today, Russia, in terms of level of development and state control over researches into nanotechnologies and spheres of their practical applications, is currently not among the key forerunners in this industry.”

However, a group of renowned experts has pointed out that practical results from implementation of nanotechnologies on the national security arena cannot be expected earlier than in 5-20 years’ time. This is because at the moment, such researches are only at the experimentation stage, after which they will be moved into the engineering development and practical production stage. 

Nanotechnologies are a boon to development of military gadgets

It is also believed that nanotechnologies will lead to changes, not only in traditional conventional armaments, but will also accelerate the creation of the next generation of nuclear weapons with significantly improved capabilities, reliability and efficiency along with their comparatively smaller sizes. Experts have noted that nanotechnologies can potentially have a real influence over all aspects of armaments and military equipment, which will also lead to significant changes in the field of modern warfare sciences.

Of particular interest is the possibility of using nanotechnologies to creating much more advanced chemical and bacteriological warfare gadgets, as nanotechnological products will enhance the development of new and revolutionary delivery vehicles for such active bioagents. Such vehicles would be much more manageable, adaptable to circumstances, selective in targeting objects and, generally more effective in practice. This has become a major source of concern among defense strategists. For instance, according to top NATO experts, the current attitude among the military brass and politicians to nanotechnologies, their influence on defense strategies, including the current system of international treaties in the military security sphere, does not reflect the scale of the potential threats posed by this new knowledge.

Indeed, even as far back as in 1995, a number of highly-ranked U.S. generals noted that nanotechnologies have far much greater potential to tip the balance of geopolitical powers than even the existing nuclear weapons. Leadership in the sphere of nanotechnologies will enable such countries to use the principles and methods of contemporary network-centric warfare to a much greater effect. According to defense experts, the United States will still remain over the next few years in the forefront of researches into nanotechnologies, though a great number of other countries will be hot on its heels, lagging behind merely by one to three years. 

Taking into consideration the possible shifts in military strategies, experts believe the focus of preventive measures in the future will be aimed at neutralizing potential adversaries from using the asymmetrical advantages of nanotechnologies to their benefits. Indeed, some experts have even gone as far as to state that the current concept of strategic nuclear defense will lose its meaning against the backdrop of ongoing developments in the nanotechnological sector. In these circumstances, some NATO experts have offered to initiate international consultations for the formation of a new legal framework to control nanotechnological developments and their applications in the areas of national defense and global security. 

It is believed that such a system of international control over nanotechnological developments will in principle significantly differ from the existing control systems in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The new system will be built by using nanotechnologies to create a network of measuring equipment and gadgets that can be used to monitor all the developments in today’s rapidly nanotechnological industry.

* The author is the general director of the Moscow-based Center for Strategic Estimations and Forecasts.